Underwater Vehicle Fly-By Seismic Unit Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Performing large ocean bottom seismic surveys is inefficient due to the high resource consumption and time required for deploying and retrieving numerous seismic data acquisition units, as the number of units increases, leading to excessive energy and fuel usage by underwater vehicles and marine vessels.
Innovation Solution
An underwater vehicle equipped with sensors to collect environmental information and perform fly-by deployments and non-landing retrievals, allowing for the deployment and retrieval of seismic data acquisition units without landing on the seabed, thereby reducing operation time and resource consumption by moving with a non-zero velocity and using interlocking mechanisms to manage the units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the number of seismic data acquisition units is increased to cover larger survey areas, then the survey coverage and data quality are improved, but the energy consumption and operation time of the underwater vehicle increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The underwater vehicle performs fly-by deployments and non-landing retrievals, maintaining continuous motion throughout the operation. By eliminating stop-and-go cycles and avoiding landings on the seabed, the vehicle sustains useful action continuously, reducing energy consumption while deploying and retrieving seismic units across large survey areas
2Manufacturing precision
If the underwater vehicle lands on the seabed to deploy or retrieve seismic data acquisition units, then the units can be precisely placed, but the operation time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle performs fly-by deployments by moving rapidly through the deployment zone without stopping or landing. Seismic units are discharged during the fly-by maneuver, allowing the vehicle to skip the time-consuming landing and takeoff cycles while maintaining sufficient placement precision through controlled discharge mechanisms
3Reliability
If the underwater vehicle slows down to zero velocity to deploy seismic data acquisition units, then the units can be safely discharged, but the deployment speed and overall productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle maintains dynamic motion during deployment operations, adjusting its velocity and discharge timing rather than stopping completely. The ramp angle and discharge mechanism are dynamically controlled to ensure safe unit release while the vehicle continues moving, thereby maintaining deployment speed and productivity
4Quantity of substance
If the underwater vehicle performs traditional deployment and retrieval operations, then all seismic data acquisition units can be managed, but the fuel consumption and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle performs non-landing retrievals by maintaining continuous motion throughout the retrieval operation. By skipping the energy-intensive landing and takeoff cycles at each unit location, the vehicle reduces fuel consumption while still managing the retrieval of all seismic data acquisition units from the survey area
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for delivering seismic data acquisition units to an ocean bottom are provided. A system includes an underwater vehicle including with sensors to determine environmental information. A control unit obtains, based on the environmental information and a policy, an indication to perform a fly-by deployment. The control unit sets an angle of a ramp with respect to a base of the underwater vehicle. The control unit identifies a launch event for a seismic data acquisition unit of a plurality of seismic data acquisition units stored in the underwater vehicle, and deploys the seismic data acquisition unit from the ramp towards the ocean bottom based on the identification of the launch event and the environmental information.